Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

The story of former UVF member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writer:

Guy Hibbert (screenplay)

Stars:

Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinca

9 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Ryder	...	Young Alistair - 1975 (as Mark Davison)
Diarmuid Noyes	...	Andy - 1975
Niamh Cusack	...	Alistair's Mum - 1975
Mathew McElhinney	...	Stuart - 1975
Conor MacNeill	...	Dave - 1975
Paul Garrett	...	Alistair's Dad - 1975
Kevin O'Neill	...	Young Joe - 1975
Gerard Jordan	...	Jim - 1975
Paula McFetridge	...	Joe's Mum - 1975
Gerry Doherty	...	Joe's Dad - 1975
Luke O'Reilly	...	Brother Dan - 1975
Luke McEvoy	...	Brother John - 1975
Aoibheann Biddle	...	Sister 1 - 1975
Ruth Matthewson	...	Sister 2 - 1975
Carol Moore	...	Susan - 1975

Storyline

In February, 1975, in Northern Ireland, seventeen year-old UVF member Alistair Little kills the catholic Jimmy Griffin in his house in Lurgan in front of his younger brother Joe Griffin. Alistair is arrested and imprisoned for twelve years while Joe is blamed by his mother for not saving his brother. Thirty-three years later, a TV promotes the meeting of Alistair and Joe in a house in River Finn, expecting the truth and the reconciliation of the murderer and the victim who actually seeks five minutes of heaven.

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Plot Keywords:

reconciliation | vengeance | title spoken by character | cell phone | ireland | 

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Taglines:

To face the future, they must face the past.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt were born in the same town, Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

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Goofs

The car which takes Griffin to the shooting location changes color from black to silver and back. You can see this when they stop on the highway,and Griffin gets back in the car and closes the door the side of the car is silver. Also, the mirror of the car is silver when it should be black.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Alistair - 1975: [narrating] For me to talk about the man I have become, you need to know about the man I was. I was 14 when I joined the Tartan gangs, and I was 15 when I joined the UVF, the Ulster Volunteer Force. At that time, don't forget, there were riots on the streets every week; petrol bombs everyday, and that was just in our town. When you got home and switched on the TV, you could see what was happening in every other town as well, and it was like we were under siege. Fathers and brothers ...

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Connections

References The Way of the Dragon (1972)

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Soundtracks

Dynamite
Performed by Mud
Composed by Mike Chapman (as Chapman) and Nicky Chinn (as Chinn)
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited
Published by Universal Music Publishing MGB

User Reviews

Average

After reading some reviews on this film i was really expecting a lot more than what I got. It felt more like a itv programme than a film.

The film deals with guilt and forgiveness, and shows the harsh reality of how both of these feelings effect people. After a long, dragged out piece of the film the two finally meet and I suppose acceptance from both of them happens where they can both move on.

Before they met i just expected more tension, and it was all a bit of an anti climax.

I suppose it shows that the innocent person can become the more angry and aggressive one out of the two, while the one who committed the murder was full of gulit and remorse for his actions, the victim was very bitter and angry, but the film went to show that meeting actually did them both good and gave them both the release and acceptance to move on with their lifes.

Details

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Five Minutes of Heaven

Filming Locations:

Glenarm Castle, Ballymena, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,364, 23 August 2009

Gross USA:

$15,676

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$364,355

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Big Fish Films, Bórd Scannán na hÉireann

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1